Encounters with Nature in New York City Apartment: Part 3

The ‘epic’ avocado-pit-sprouting saga began last spring, when Michael and I first punctured a pit with toothpicks, sat it in a jar of water for over a month, and watched it miraculously grow roots and sprout a tiny shoot.  We eventually (and haphazardly) planted it in its own enormous pot of soil, where it sat, apparently dormant, for over a month, until I eventually gave up on it and impatiently decided to dig it up.  I discovered, though, that the roots were healthy and that its shoot had inconspicuously started growing.  Once the weather warmed up, it shot upwards and eventually grew four big leaves (see photo on bottom left).  But when the summer ended, all the leaves dropped off, leaving a naked, pathetic-looking stalk over the winter.  I was afraid that it had ceased to live, but about two weeks ago it started sprouting upwards again and has now grown four more leaves (see photo second in from the bottom left).  What a trooper!

After this first somewhat successful attempt at sprouting an avocado pit, we tried again (see top row of photos).  Although this second attempt initially appeared ‘fruitful,’ I waited too long to plant the pits and after a few weeks in the soil they seem to be goners.

Watching the pits grow in jars is a magical experience.  I even derived artistic inspiration from them, incorporating observational drawings and dream imagery to create a painted self portrait/’psychological morphology’ (for a class assignment - see bottom right image).

I think that sprouted avocado pits would serve as intriguing subject matter for observational drawing lessons in the classroom.  Sprouted avocado pits could also be anthropomorphized or given magical powers - in the form of paintings, collages, or sculptures.